IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

Register | Log In | What is RT?
It's our 10th birthday, so you get presents!
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | In Theaters | Opening | Upcoming | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
 
MOVIES / ON DVD / THE SKELETON KEY
The Skeleton Key

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
See Pictures
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy DVD
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

The Skeleton Key (2005)

39%
22%
61%
N/A
N/A
N/A
39 %
Reviews Counted: 143 Fresh: 56  Rotten:87 Average Rating: 5.3/10
 
Consensus: Thanks to its creaky and formulaic script, The Skeleton Key is more mumbo-jumbo than hoodoo and more dull than scary.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Theatrical Release: Aug 12, 2005 Wide

Box Office: $47,729,605

Synopsis: After New Orleans hospice worker Caroline (Kate Hudson) answers a help wanted ad, she finds herself working as the live-in caretaker of Ben Devereaux (John Hurt), a stroke victim who has lost his ability to speak. Ben's wife, Violet (Gena Rowlands), presents Caroline with a skeleton key to... After New Orleans hospice worker Caroline (Kate Hudson) answers a help wanted ad, she finds herself working as the live-in caretaker of Ben Devereaux (John Hurt), a stroke victim who has lost his ability to speak. Ben's wife, Violet (Gena Rowlands), presents Caroline with a skeleton key to open any door in the house--with the exception of one, which she claims she has never been able to open. But curiosity gets the best of her, and Caroline opens the door to find a wealth of materials representing the old house's history of hoodoo, an ancient form of folk magic. She soon discovers that the house harbors a dark secret--one that Violet knows more about than she first admits. Breaking her string of lighthearted romantic comedies, Kate Hudson gives a performance that proves she's more than capable of playing a feisty damsel in distress. Ehren Kruger's (THE RING) script gives her some physically demanding scenes, while providing the audience with a steady string of effective jolts culminating in a SIXTH SENSE-style twist that few are likely to see coming. Louisiana's swampy, heavy atmosphere is literally a character in the film, while Gena Rowlands, at age 75, astounds once again with one of her most surprising roles. [More]

Genre: Thriller

Starring: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant

Director: Iain Softley
Screenwriter: Ehren Kruger
Producer: Michael Shamberg, Iain Softley, Stacey Sher

DVD Info

Release:

May 22, 2007

[DVD Details]

HD DVD Features:

  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround - English, French
  • Subtitles - English (SDH), French - Optional

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
01/15/08
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Ratings Image
2/5

The voodoo lore is sketchy (it can't hurt unbelievers, except when it can), the plot obviously little but build-up to the big reveal.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/31/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
2.5/4

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image
N/A

Reinvigorates the supernatural thriller genre with a much needed infusion of new ideas and just plain nasty, digital-free mischief.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/31/07
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press
Ratings Image
N/A

A paint-by-numbers supernatural thriller that's more interesting for its locations than for its story.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/01/07
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International
Ratings Image
2/4

Pretty much what you would expect from the screenwriter of disappointing films such as Scream 3, Reindeer Games and Arlington Road.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/11/06
Todd Hertz
Christianity Today
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
10/07/06
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/12/06
Bob Grimm
Sacramento News & Review
Ratings Image
N/A

The wide, unmoving forehead of Kate Hudson floats with torporific ennui through this clip show of all the slowest, most boring bits from every spook movie you've ever seen.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/21/05
Dawn Taylor
Portland Tribune
Ratings Image
2.5/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
2.5/4

Es predecible y soporífera, llena de clichés y lugares comunes, sin lograr crear nunca la atmósfera adecuada para que el espectador logre una conexión emocional

Full Review | comment Comment
11/26/05
Jorge Avila Andrade
Moviola
Ratings Image
C

Unlocks a mystery, but the journey is fraught with the familiar.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/13/05
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
Ratings Image
3/5

Its ultimate twist is both admirable and startling, making this savory gumbo worth a nibble.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/20/05
Randy Shulman
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
09/26/05
Onion AV Club
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

The script is clever and witty enough to get by, and the cute blonde heroine is smart and resourceful enough that the script never seems sexist.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/16/05
Jeremy C. Fox
Pajiba
Ratings Image
2.5/5

The film's lush atmosphere is a thin smokescreen to hide the fact that its formulaic underpinnings prevent it from approaching anything that is truly scary or unsettling

Full Review | comment Comment
09/09/05
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
N/A

Dumbo Gumbo

Full Review | comment Comment
09/07/05
John Larsen
Light Views
Ratings Image
B

The Skeleton Key is one hoodoo of a movie--literally. It's a movie about hoodoo, voodoo and cheap thrills set in a Louisiana backwater.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/01/05
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
See More Topics...

Related Forums

The Skeleton Key
by: january0318 10/3/06


A Flaw-it just made no sense
by: eddie2555 6/26/06


A Flaw-it just made no sense
by: eddie2555 6/26/06


some clarification please
by: Bone_Crusher_2005 6/26/06


are the making a second
by: bluesurf131 6/25/06
all

Pictures

all

Trailers & Clips

The Skeleton Key Trailer
Watch Now >>
all

News

Box Office Guru Preview: Make Way for McLovin
posted by Gitesh Pandya August 16, 2007
Carrying some major buzz into the marketplace, Sony's teen comedy Superbad hits the multiplexes this weekend aiming...


New Line Signs Bettany & Fraser for "Inkheart"
posted by Scott Weinberg August 24, 2006
New Line's just getting the ball rolling on their highly-anticipated "His Dark Materials" series -- and...


Box Office Preview: "Snakes" Prepares For Takeoff
posted by RT Staff August 17, 2006
This weekend Samuel L. Jackson looks to seize control of the muthaf*ckin' box office with his new muthaf*ckin' film...


Box Office Preview: "World Trade Center" Arrives in Theaters
posted by Gitesh Pandya August 10, 2006
Another frame packed with four new national releases is led by Oliver Stone's 9/11 drama "World Trade...

Around the Network

• The Skeleton Key at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Skeleton Key at IGN
• The Skeleton Key at AskMen
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.